The new fiscal year 2017 spending agreement provides funding for many of the shipbuilding priorities under the Navy’s accelerated fleet plan, but falls short on the service’s request for additional aircraft.
The consolidated spending bill released May 1 allocates $21.2 billion in the shipbuilding and conversion account, a $3 billion increase from the Obama administration’s FY-17 request. The bill includes funds to purchase 13 ships, including three Littoral Combat Ships, two guided missile destroyers, two attack submarines, one amphibious assault ship and two ship-to-shore connectors.
The bill also meets some of the shipbuilding increases sought by the Navy in an accelerated fleet plan sent by acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in February. The plan, obtained by Inside Defense, sought procurement increases above the service’s original FY-17 request to start building toward a 355-ship fleet.
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